Last Wednesday we woke up, hastily packed our bags and after a brief stop at Jelly Belly, drove to Lake Geneva to spend four days at Timber Ridge Resort.

It was a perfect vacation for all the kids.

This picture looks so happy and carefree, but you have no idea how long it took Adam to orchestrate it.

We couldn’t take it on the first day because Ben wouldn’t go down any of the slides. It made me very sad, since we’ve been to this park before and Ben did all the slides and was fearless. How could getting older develop MORE fear?

If Ben is the model of determination, Adam is the mold. He kept gently but firmly bugging him, asking him, joking him into these slides. It took him 2 days, but eventually he got Ben to ride 4 slides with Adam, then he got Ben to ride them by himself.

I always joke that Adam negotiates for a living and that is why we never fight but I saw him first hand in action this holiday. He never gave up, never got frustrated. It was amazing.

Yesterday we took a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. You can just imagine the look on the kids faces when we told them we were taking them to a candy factory!

Look they have a sample bar where you can ask for as many samples as you want! I tried egg nog. They seriously have like, every flavor you can think of.

Here we are waiting for the tour to start.

They cart you around the warehouse showing you different videos. You see candy made on these screens, not live like I envisioned. But it was still cool to see the mosaic jelly bean pictures and clothes made of jelly beans! (No pictures allowed during that part of the tour.)

Afterwards, the fun part! The boys picked out their candy! Here is Jack loading up on 10 pounds of jelly beans.

First, the Hanukkah bears have been up to their usual stuff the past few nights…

Hanukkah Totem Pole

Superhero Hanukkah Bears Battle Godzilla

Then there was the holiday train one night followed by a dinner out at Dee’s Restaurant.

Another night, Zoo Lights followed by a dinner out at Eleven City Diner. Nothing like a little deli food to warm yourself after a night out at the zoo.

3D glasses for zoo light viewing.

Then every night there were candles and presents…

And one night there were Hanukkah cookies too….

It was a great start to the older boy’s winter holiday and just wait, we have A LOT more planned for them for the rest of it as well. If I didn’t have such a happy childhood I think I’d be pretty jealous of these kids right now!

It’s been such a busy few days between getting the flu, volunteering at school, holiday parties, and all the extra work that comes with Hanukkah that I forgot to post this! already another order has come in!

I immediately got to work the next day whipping up some soup and cranberry bread. I thought both turned out good enough to share the recipes with you!

I used up half the cabbage, the potatoes, and one parsnip an adaption from Ciao Italia’sCabbage Potato and Bean Soup. I was able to throw in some of the kidney beans from a few weeks ago that fresh picks delivered too. I really liked the way the parsnip added a sweetness to the soup.

With a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar on medium speed for 4 to 7 minutes, using the whip attachment. The egg and sugar mixture will double in volume and turn very pale yellow, leaving ribbons on top of the batter when you lift the beaters.

Beat in the butter and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes or until the butter is smoothly incorporated.

Use a spatula to fold in the flour, salt, and cranberries. The batter will be quite thick. Spread gently into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle crushed pecans on top.

Bake for 60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 20 minutes then run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and remove the cake. Cool for an hour before serving.

3.2.1284

So good people, sooo soooo good. Seriously think about it for the holidays.

As for the spaghetti squash I just want to thank Fresh Picks for giving me this gift. I’ve never tried it before and I’m pleased to say it is SO easy to prepare and top with whatever and it comes out delish.

I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, brushed it with olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted it, cut side down on foil at 375° for about 45 minutes. Let it cool enough to handle then ran a fork through it and it made beautiful, spaghetti-like strands. I topped it with the steamed chard from this order, marinara and mozzarella then stuck it back in the oven and let the mozzarella melt. Would definitely make this again, and not just when Fresh Picks delivers it to me.

Yesterday morning when the boys woke they found the Hanukkah bears dressed up just like them…

Then this morning they found the Hanukkah bears taking a joy ride in their make shift hot air balloon…

Meanwhile the past two nights the boys opened up legos, lego calendars, huge garbage trucks that my sister bought for the twins, Harry Potter movies and more.

Jack brought home gift for all his family members from his school’s holiday bazaar. Very thoughtful stuff like a photo frame for me (even my 7 year old knows I’m addicted to my camera), a clock for Adam, and little ice cream bowls for all his siblings.

We opened the first night’s toys. Jack and Ben actually picked out all their toys and wrapped them themselves so they knew exactly what they were getting. There is Jack’s remote control Dino car. Ben got mini superheros and villains, also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hot chocolate mugs from his aide. The twins got matching ambulances. We also opened up gifts from Aunt Aloha and Uncle Ronnie. Puppets, books and Macadamia Nut Chocolates.

It was a great haul for the first night! Or any night!

Then it was time for the dreidel game. Aaron tried to eat his whole stash and Ben got really upset when he lost, but Adam was able to bring him back in and show him how to play. I was proud he was able to come back and recover from his upset. Shows he’s getting better.

With all the holiday show hoopla, I forgot to mention that Ben had another very good week last week.

He was ‘Star of the Week’ in his kindergarten class and proudly filled out this poster about himself all on his own. He wouldn’t let me help write a single letter. I noticed for Jack’s Kindergarten ‘Star of the Week’ poster I wrote everything. (First time mom rookie mistake!)

Highlights include Ben’s chosen profession when he grows up: Lawyer and Police Man. Jack wanted to be a truck driver on his.

It was the usual morning frenzy Friday morning at the Calisoff house. Today’s frenzy du jour was the holiday show at school. Both Jack and Ben were performing and everyone, including the parents, were very excited.

It was a big day for Ben. In the past Ben has not done well in performance situations. I don’t know if you all remember the puppet show incident. He basically wandered around the stage during his performance then kicked and screamed his way off the stage. In hindsight, we figured standing alone on stage with no one to regulate him was a bad idea.

So when it was once again time for him to perform, we approached with trepidation. We actually told his aide not to let him perform. We didn’t want him ruining the show for everyone. And we’ve seen Jack’s school shows. They are AMAZING.

When we told her not to let him participate, her face fell. She told us he would be really disappointed and she thought he could do it. So we told her okay, but if it’s not working out we are okay not seeing him onstage.

The staff at school not only managed to teach him his lines and get him to practice, they also made him line leader. He was a leader! I was really, really hoping he would succeed.

So back to the Calisoff morning frenzy. For some reason, Jack said he couldn’t stand up to get dressed. He was acting very strange. But I don’t think anyone spent any time trying to figure out why. Jack really wanted to do the show and we really wanted to see him do it!

Please do not judge me when you see the picture I snapped before Adam took them so school. When I look at it I cringe. If it were in a newspaper the caption might read, “Stage Mom Ignores Sick Kid’s Symptoms. The Show Must Go On!”

And the show did go on.

Ben did an incredible job. I couldn’t tell him apart from any other kid up there. He did the movements and sang the song. He waited patiently to lead the other kids off stage. I was so proud of him. HE DID IT!

Jack fought the sickness and performed in both shows. In between he put his head on his desk. As his teacher said, she knew he was sick because today they had plenty of opportunity to horse around with their buddies and he didn’t do it.

The auditorium was packed so there was no room for siblings but while I was watching Jack perform I turned around and saw this image in the doorway…

It was such an upbeat way to start the holiday season. Many thanks to Jack and Ben’s school!

Another birthday! And so soon! I feel like with each passing year the birthdays come quicker and quicker.

Actually I have a theory on that. When you are 4 years old you have to wait, like 1/5 of your life for your 5th birthday to arrive. That’s a long time to wait! But when you are turning 42, it’s only 1/42 of your life since your last birthday. Which really isn’t a lot at all.

So another birthday!

Adam and the older boys were out creating some elaborate surprise that they unbelievably kept a secret from me until my actual birthday.

Adam took them to a pottery place and they made these great little boxes for me to put stuff in.

Then the twins came in with a card they scribbled up real good for me. They were very proud of themselves too.

I had NO IDEA it was so easy to make bread. And how much more delicious it would be than the stuff you buy at the store.

Jack and I have become professional bakers!

So far we made a Boule bread and dinner rolls. Then we made Naan bread…

Which we turned into pizza….

Next we moved onto Challah bread.

Jack and I made matching braided breads.

At first the other kids were happy to sit on the sidelines, sipping hot chocolate and watching.

But soon we became a full on “baker’s half dozenish”.

Here is all the great shapes we came up with.

Jack made ‘car challahs’. Can you spot them? Ben wanted a braid of his own.

Here are the two braids Jack and I did…

It’s been so much fun to do this with the kids. More than I imagined it would be. And as an added bonus I’m saving money and feeding my kids less preservatives and added sugars. It’s a very satisfying venture all the way around.